Chris Rusin throws no-hitter for Iowa Cubs

Left-hander said of his 118-pitch outing that he just 'was going to keep pitching until they took me out'

May 07, 2014|By Mark Gonzales, Chicago Tribune reporter

Left-hander Chris Rusin saved the Cubs' bullpen April 12 when he pitched five innings of three-hit relief before he was returned to Triple-A Iowa afterward.

But Rusin took another step Wednesday toward earning a promotion when he threw a no-hitter in Iowa's 3-0 victory at New Orleans

Rusin, 27, struck out three and walked two in a 118-pitch performance. Rusin is 4-9 with a 4.53 ERA over parts of three seasons with the Cubs and was one of the final cuts in spring training.

"I never had gone through six innings without allowing any hits," Rusin told Iowa Cubs media staffer Randy Wehofer.

Rusin, who throws in the high 80 mph range, said he kept throwing his two-seam fastball until the New Orleans' hitters adjusted.

"I don't know how many pitches I had," Rusin said. "I was going to keep pitching until they took me out."

No regrets: Manager Rick Renteria had no regrets about using Pedro Strop Tuesday night. The reliever revealed after the 5-1 loss to the White Sox that he injured his left groin five days earlier while performing lunge exercises. He has been placed on the 15-day disabled list after an MRI revealed a moderate strain.

"I didn't think it was an issue, quite frankly," said Renteria, who was aware of Strop's condition before Tuesday's game. "We kept him out and he had been working on flat ground and doing all his work.

"All indications were he was fine."

Left-handed reliever Zac Rosscup was promoted to the Cubs for the third time. Rosscup has a 3.00 ERA in seven appearances with Iowa and hasn't allowed a run in 22/3 innings in two games with the Cubs.

Samardzija stoked: Cubs ace Jeff Samardzija was delighted to present retiring Sox slugger Paul Konerko with a No. 14 panel from the Wrigley Field scoreboard as a farewell gift before Tuesday's game, especially after accidentally hitting him in the face with a pitch two years ago.

"I was asked to do it and jumped at the opportunity right away," Samardzija said. "When the whole thing went down when I hit him, the first thing I said was, 'This was the worst guy this could happen to because I respect him more than anyone in this game.' And you talk about losing two guys in the game like (Derek) Jeter and Konerko (retiring after this season), that's tough.

"It's bad for the game. We love to see those guys and love to see them keep playing. He's an outstanding man and hopefully has a strong year to end it, really enjoys the run.''

On the rise: Triple-A Iowa left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada and Class A Kane County catcher Will Remillard were named the Cubs minor league pitcher and player of the month for April.

Wada, 33, was 3-1 with a Pacific Coast League-leading 0.68 ERA in four starts for Iowa. Wada struck out 29 and walked only three while holding opponents to a .156 batting average.

Remillard, 21, batted .373 with six doubles, one home run and 15 RBIs for the Cougars in April. Remillard had five multi-hit games last month. He was a 19th round pick out of Coastal Carolina in the 2013 draft.

Extra innings: Renteria reiterated his faith in right fielder Nate Schierholtz, who was in an 0-for-15 slump and is batting .188. "I don't panic," Renteria said. "He has a history of doing well. We're doing all we can to alleviate any tension and let him play.'' … Double-A Tennessee third baseman Kris Bryant hit two home runs against Birmingham to increase his season total to eight.